News Broadcasting
Ashutosh takes over as business head for ETC Music
MUMBAI: ETC Music vice president operations, Ashutosh has taken additional charge of the channel as its business head with effective from 3 December.
This move comes in the wake of erstwhile ETC Music business head Yogesh Radhakrishnan, moving to Dubai to look after the growing interest of Zee Networks in the overseas markets.
With a Master in Business Administration from Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai, Ashutosh majored in marketing with additional papers in finance and human resource management.
He began his career as a summer intern at Cadbury Schweppes Beverages Pvt. Ltd. In 1996 he joined Zee Group as executive assistant to managing director and CEO of Zee Network.
In 1997 he took over as manager- business development and was later given the responsibility of Internet services as senior manager.
In 1999 Ashutosh moved over as group channel manager- Econnect India Ltd., which a 100 per cent subsidiary company of Zee Telefilms Limited. Later he served with Zee Telefilms Ltd. as vice president southern channels and then in the capacity of vice president retail sales.
Since 2003, Ashutosh is deputed to ETC Networks for facilitating its effective integration into Zee Telefilms.
News Broadcasting
Network18 posts Rs 1,955 crore revenue, narrows FY26 losses
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
